Marine One Competition To See Only One Bidder After Boeing, Bell And AgustaWestland Pull Out

The new competition to build helicopters for the U.S presidential fleet will only see Sikorsky bid on the multibillion-dollar contract this week, according to reports.

The helicopter-makers rivals have voiced their concerns that bid specifications are being written so narrowly they are driving away potential competitors.

Wanting to clamp down on wasteful spending, President Obama halted a project to create new presidential helicopters four years ago, saying its soaring price was a symbol of government contracting “gone amok.”

Given the budget crisis, the White House has reiterated the call for sharper competition in all areas of contracting, to lower costs. But the bidding for Marine One, the helicopter that sweeps away presidents from the White House lawn, suggests that goal is hard to achieve, as have other recent contract troubles, according to the New York Times.

In 2008, the project for 28 futuristic helicopters, to be to be designed to fend off terrorist attacks and resist the electromagnetic effects of a nuclear blast, has ballooned to nearly $13 billion.

The latest plan is to buy 21 helicopters — at a much lower but unspecified cost — that would begin to enter service in 2020, the report added.

With bids expected by Thursday, Boeing, Bell Helicopter and AgustaWestland have all said that they had decided not to.

In a statement, AgustaWestland, which was expected to be Sikorsky’s biggest rival, said that several aspects of the bid process “inhibit our ability to submit a competitive offering” and “provide a significant advantage to our likely competitor.”